Bing Crosby - Do You Hear What I Hear (1963)

[bananas]

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/12/the-apocalyptic-fear-within-do-you-hear-what-i-hear/420459/

The Apocalyptic Fear in ‘Do You Hear What I Hear’

It’s the nativity story, retold during the Cold War.



Spencer Kornhaber, Dec 16, 2015

When Bing Crosby or Robert Goulet or Carrie Underwood sing of “a star, a star, dancing in the night with a tail as big as a kite,” it evokes the biblical Star of Bethlehem, leading the magi to the son of God.

It also evokes a nuclear missile.

Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker wrote “Do You Hear What I Hear” in 1963, around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, in response to the existential dread they felt because of the Cold War. “In the studio, the producer was listening to the radio to see if we had been obliterated,” Regney once explained. “En route to my home, I saw two mothers with their babies in strollers. The little angels were looking at each other and smiling.” This inspired the first line of the song: “Said the night wind to the little lamb … ”

<snip>

The lyrics are impressionistic, writerly, about a chain of communications between objects animate and not; I have always felt a bit frightened at the notion of “a voice as big as the sea.” The mentions of The Child make the song Christian, of course. But when there’s the command for “people everywhere” to pray for peace, the import is beyond any one religion

Baker once said that because of the fearful mood of the nation at the time, she and Regney had a hard time singing “Do You Hear What I Hear” without crying: “Our little song broke us up.” There’s reason enough for it to have the same effect today, unfortunately.

[bananas]

1. It could also describe the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Landing at Cape Canaveral

"A star, a star, dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite"

You can hear the sonic booms reaching viewers at the same time the rocket lands in this video:

[Ken Burch]

2. Thanks for including the story of the song

I first found out about the anti-nuclear roots of the song in the liner notes to the Pink Martini Christmas album that came out a few years ago.

Totally changes the way you hear the lyrics when you know about that.

[bananas]

3. It's funny - I keep forgetting and re-learning it.

I was listening to Christmas music and "a star dancing in the night with a tail as long as a kite" seemed to describe the Dragon flyback, descent, and landing.

So I decided to make a post about it, and googled it and was surprised to remember the story - I had completely forgotten it - again!

This is something we do by nature; as Albert Schweitzer put it, "Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory."

"To forgive and forget", as others have said.

I love Pink Martini, here is their version of "Do you hear what I hear":

My favorite of theirs is "Hey Eugene" we've all been on one or both sides of this:

Merry Christmas to you and yours, Ken Burch!

[Ken Burch]

4. And to you and yours as well. n/t.

[MinM]

5. do you hear what i hear